Food for Thought

Have you ever felt..lost? No, I’m not talking about literally (most people have)--I’m talking about literature-ly. 

Writing in college should be easy as pie–oftentimes, it is not. The transition from regular, five paragraph essays to multipage analyses can leave quite a bitter taste in a person’s mouth. Nevertheless, I’m here to help! 

Ever felt stuck on a writing assignment that seems a bit too tedious? Ever felt hopeless reading a journal that has a few more pages than you’d like? 

Then this is the guide for you! It’s time for…

“Help! I’ve fallen (into a bout of procrastination) and I can’t get up!” 

The goal here is simple: identify writing strategies that will reduce stress as you transition from high school writing to college writing. Less stress = easier assignment completion = better writing skills

In the end, when you follow each step in this recipe, you'll find how to be a great writer in college. While it may seem daunting at first, just know that there are countless resources on how to improve; if you ever feel nervous about writing, contact your professor (or check back in with my guide)!

Constant practice will make you an expert writer in no time!

Sources:

"Chapter 11: Types of Argument." English 102: Intermediate English Composition, Central Arizona College, pressbooks.pub/centralarizonacollege/chapter/chapter-11-types-of-argument/

Penrose, Ann M., and Cheryl Geisler. "Reading and Writing without Authority." College Composition and Communication, vol. 45, no. 4, 1994, pp. 505–20.

Good news! You are in the middle of formulating your essay–how can we make sure this essay remains a conversation? How can we ensure your cake doesn’t fall? 

To reinforce your essay, you will want to make sure to practice each step in your writing…

From Teresa Thonney’s Teaching the Conventions of Academic Discourse…

Writing should be a conversation (349): writing should be a back-and-forth, not just a presentation

Writers should “sell their work” (350): writers should make their purpose obvious, whether that be through strong evidence or through a logical thinking process (think about how your essay is structures)

Writers should write “concisely” (354): writers need to show that they are relevant to a conversation–this can be done by using specific jargon rather than using empty, word-count filling text 

I’m here to help–this is what got me through my very first ENG101 class (that may not be mentioned in texts)

Keep an open mind: write with the goal to inform yourself–accept that you may have an incorrect opinion and grow from that by reading “opponent” texts. This will help create stronger analysis skills that will aid in writing 

Analyze immediately: always ask questions about what you are writing or reading to better understand a topic–this will also help you identify if you need to adjust your viewpoint 

I want you to imagine college writing like making a cake; you have already gathered your ingredients with mise en place and now you’re mixing your ingredients together. 

By this, I am referencing the creation part of writing. You don’t write just to write, rather, you write to join a conversation–to create a name for yourself in a writing setting. 

This can only allude to finding a “voice” or writing with authority. 

The main facet that differentiates high school level writing from college level writing is the presence of an authoritative voice; in other words, a student will have to learn how to create a “name” for themselves in the writing process.

To help visualize this, let’s look at Professors Ann M. Penrose and Cheryl Geisler’s Reading and Writing Without Authority; in this example, they compare students who utilize an authoritative voice versus those who do not utilize an authoritative voice.

Characteristics (507)

Roger: 

 “Texts are authored and negotiable” 

“Authors present knowledge in the form of claims” 

“Knowledge claims can conflict”

“Knowledge claims can be tested”

Janet: 

 “Texts are definitive” 

“Information-transfer model” 

Students want to write like Roger, but they may relate more to Janet if they are a new writer. College-level writers (such as Roger) write to join a conversation–they write as if they were an expert on a topic. They explain their viewpoint in confidence, but allow people to reject their viewpoint if they have a disagreement. A conversation is created among scholars. 

For writers that are not yet at Roger level, they may have a more direct approach to writing. Writers may choose one viewpoint and stick to that. Such a viewpoint is static–it does not constantly evolve as the conversation evolves. 

To put it in a more casual sense, imagine you are in a group of friends. They are all trying to decide on where to eat–the group recommends Olive Garden. 

Friend 1: “Olive Garden has a wide selection of Italian food–there’s something for everyone.”

Having a voice with authority means that your response would look a little something like:

You: “Olive Garden sounds good, but Little Caesars would fit our budget more and we could eat wherever we want.” 

Notice how you are able to join the conversation, acknowledge the other speaker, but also include your own viewpoint on the matter. You were able to analyze the pros and cons of eating at each restaurant, which then meant you could think about which choice best fit the situation. 

You: “If you think Olive Garden sounds good then…that’s fine with me.” 

In this scenario, you are less likely to establish yourself as someone with an authoritative voice. This is mainly because you are yielding your viewpoint entirely. You can still choose Olive Garden, but seeking an “exact truth” is not adding to a conversation. Your friends want true input rather than just a spat-out agreement; authority means you have the “why” supporting the “what”

To some, writing can be tedious. To others, writing comes naturally. Nonetheless, writing is something a person will have to push through in order to be successful in college; yet, no one ever talks about the hardest portion of writing: getting the words onto the page. 

Procrastination can be the silent reason a student’s grade drops. This is why it is important to find techniques to actually start the writing process. Sometimes motivation can be low, especially when we feel burnt out or exhausted from our daily lives, so it can be important to find methods to help combat such procrastination. 

A few methods can be successful in this case: 

Set a timer

Set a short, five-ten minute timer and just start writing when that timer is done, then you can check your progress and see if you want to continue 

If you decide not to continue, it is better have started on the assignment rather than leave it blank–when you do decide to finish writing, you will have some ideas to work off of

Let it Rest 

Physically leave your notebooks or laptop out as a visual reminder of what needs to be done–this may help the transition from break to work feel more natural, and thus reduce the chance at procrastination 

Oven Times 

Being a procrastinator often means waiting till the last second to do an assignment; combat this by giving yourself a fake set time to finish an assignment 

This can be achieved by tricking yourself that an assignment is due at an earlier date–this may make a student more likely to finish an assignment early, accident or not

As you make your way into Freshmen-level college writing, you’ll recognize some immediate similarities with high school writing. For starters, formatting is very, very similar. The intro, claim, evidence, and supporting details are all important facets in college writing.

Yet, one distinction is the use of a thesis statement. These statements are everything.  They are the foundation of a paper, the flour in the ‘writing’ cake. Regardless of the writing style utilized, you will always need a thesis. 

Before making a thesis statement, consider your viewpoint and consider how you want the audience to…

Feel 

Think 

Act

Respond 

This is directly affected by how strong the viewpoint is; Pressbooks characterizes a strong viewpoint by its…

Arguability (if people can argue against your viewpoint)

Evidence (if there is enough evidence to support your viewpoint)

Validity (if you have an argument based on fact)

Trustworthiness 

Preparing your viewpoint will make your writing process much easier, and it'll save you from the headache of finding new evidence and analyzing new topics.

Once you have a solid understanding of how each detail works together, then you can create your thesis!